


Savage Beauty

by vaderina



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Incest, M/M, Multi, forced transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: The scales had tipped, what had once been the ruling party was now the resistance that was scattered far and wide. Percival, Newt and Theseus made up one of the cells that still tried to fight against Grindelwald until someone sold them out.





	Savage Beauty

MACUSA had fallen. Much like all other ministries, governments and councils around the world they slowly crumbled to the poisonous sway of Grindelwald and his ideologies. What had been the ruling groups in power became exiles, the resistance who fought for the old ways. They scattered wide, ran into hiding as they tried to plan their uprising. There was no thanks in the task and each day news came of more of their numbers lost either to death or giving up the fight. The first to go was Queenie, the promise of a free life with Jacob too tempting for her to resist and she left in the dark of the night only to be seen a few days later with tired eyes but laughing on Jacob’s arm. Her loss had left Tina bereft and reckless. She was lost to a curse a few weeks into their fight. Delego, Timmins, O’Brien, the list went on of good people who lost their lives for their cause. Others like Abernathy, Franks and Jameson had all given up and in his heart of hearts Percival couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t a good fight, or a fair one. Subterfuge, constant fear of discovery, quick and dirty clashes for the sake of gaining meaningless ground, it was enough for anyone to lose hope.

Smaller groups were easier to hide. Percival, Newt and Theseus had banded together down by the coast while Seraphina and Fontaine worked in another city. They stayed in touch with pigeons and coded messages. It wasn’t easy and the three of them had fallen into a lopsided relationship that none of them had planned on but it made things more bearable. To know and trust each other at such an intimate level and to hold each other through nights that seemed to never end made the bleakness of it all a little simpler to breathe.

A pigeon flew through the open window and pecked insistently at Newt’s shoulder for attention. It was easy to distinguish it as one of Seraphina’s from the small silvered feather on its head. Attached to its back was a letter addressed to Newt. Without hesitation he reached for it even as he passed the bird a small bowl of sunflower seeds as a treat. The letter held no markings and as he tipped it he could feel something small rattle around inside.

Percival and Theseus were bent over a map on the table while Newt knelt next to the coffee table to look at what Seraphina had sent him.

_Dear Newt,_

_Please find enclosed a scale of some creature we believe Grindelwald has in captivity. I haven’t been able to identify what it is and was hoping your expertise might guide us._

_Many thanks as always,  
S. Picquery_

Newt delicately unwrapped the scale which glowed a low silver in the light and squinted. It wasn’t like any scale he’d ever seen before. A few spells revealed nothing helpful, he couldn’t even discern whether it was reptilian, piscine or avian. Over his shoulder he saw Percival and Theseus look at what he was doing but left him to it. He picked it up for a closer look at a better angle.

It was the sharp cry that had both Percival and Theseus rushing over to Newt. He clutched his hand where the scale had liquefied and with a flash sunk into his skin. They were on either side of him in the matter of moments but the damage had already been done. Newt tried to speak but his voice was a scratchy rasp of garbles no matter how much he cleared his throat and tried to speak. With horror they watched more words appear on the letter.

_I’m sorry my friends. I have grown tired of the fight. I just want things to be over now and you were one of the last bastions still standing._

Percival growled at the letter as he clutched it in his fist and Theseus tried to reign in his disappointment at the betrayal. Whatever Picquery had done to Newt was something none of them had ever encountered before. Aside from losing his voice nothing seemed to have changed. Diagnostic spells brought up nothing, there were no curses to unpick, counter spells passed over Newt without encountering anything to fight. Eventually they were exhausted and made no progress on figuring out what had happened to Newt so they piled into the bed and tried to come to terms with yet another loss.

In the morning as they were getting ready to face another day the changes to Newt became more apparent. His ears had morphed overnight into something more streamlined, the tips elongated and curved back along his skull. In addition his pupils had warped into slits that could expand to almost all of his eye to give him an eerie and otherworldly look. There was no telling what was going on and they couldn’t figure out how to reverse it. When he grimaced in disappointment it was impossible to miss the way his teeth were smaller and much more pointed. He’d gone for a shower when Percival cornered Theseus.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” he admitted and hung his head in shame. Theseus stood next to him, their shoulders pressed together.

“Me neither. I’m terrified we’re losing him. Did you see the way he tracked the doxies? Almost predatory.”

“We’ll fight to get him back for as long as we can,” Percival tried to reassure him but deep down they both knew there was not a lot more either of them could do without knowing what they were up against. Newt emerged from the bathroom, hair wet and sticking to his skull. From a distance he almost looked like he usually did until he smiled and his teeth were revealed.

That night Theseus went to pull Newt closer to him in reassurance. His hand drifted over Newt’s warm side and slid over his exposed hip to drag him in. Rather than smooth skin his fingers passed over what could have been scales. Theseus let go in a panic and tried to reassure himself it was part of his dream, Newt most definitely didn’t have scales on his hips. He promised himself that he’d check in the morning when his mind was less sleep addled and tried to put the matter out of his mind.

In the morning he forgot all about the scales he’d felt. Newt woke up pale and with dry skin. He went for a long shower during which Theseus and Percival tried to read up on what could have possibly happened to Newt. When he emerged from the shower he looked better and the two of them relaxed a little. Perhaps they’d been overreacting to something as simple as dehydration. Over the course of the day they plied Newt with drinks but no matter how much water they gave him he still looked dry. The skin around his mouth cracked, his cheeks and forehead looked papery and fragile. Veins were visible in his neck and looked darker than either Percival or Theseus remembered them to be. Wet towels on his skin seem to ease the irritated skin and soon Newt was walking around in damps clothes too. He slept in the bathtub that night, it was easier to keep his clothes wet without bothering the other two.

Theseus woke first and he was surprised to find that Newt wasn’t up before him. Together with Percival they searched their small house and approached the bathroom with apprehension. Newt was still in the bathtub, head tipped back and mouth open in a silent snore. As his brother approached his eyes widened with horror. Sharply clawed hands had torn through trousers to stop them impeding the way Newt’s legs had begun to fuse together. Theseus rushed from the bathroom and Percival hurried after him. There were tears, filled with fear and loss and rage. They were losing Newt slowly, one piece at a time and there was nothing they could do about it, even their combined powers weren’t enough to halt the transformation.

They put the pieces of each other back together as much as possible. Wobbly smiles were exchanged and Theseus grabbed a blanket from the back of their couch. He helped Newt stand on webbed feet and wrapped him in the blanket for the sake of modesty and sanity. The thin, frail membrane that was slowly forming between his legs was difficult to see. That night both Theseus and Percival moved their bedding into the small bathroom and curled up by the tub. Time with Newt was limited and neither of them wanted to lose what precious few moments were left.

It was in the middle of the night that Newt sat up gasping, hands clutching at his throat as he struggled to breathe. Both Theseus and Percival jolted up as the harsh rasps of choking. Between Newt’s clawed fingers they could see gills flapping uselessly as they tried to suck air in. A simple spell from Percival’s wand filled the tub with water and Theseus dunked Newt’s head in it. It was eerie to see Newt stare up from below the water’s surface, completely at ease. For the rest of the night Theseus slept fitfully.

By the morning Newt’s fully formed tail was flopped out over the edge of the tub and he looked uncomfortable. Expansion charms were his speciality but Theseus and Percival worked together and soon their meagre bathroom housed a large aquarium in which Newt could comfortably turn around in as he needed. It was the most they could do, their charms weren’t as stable or as clean as Newt’s. For days they sat by the aquarium and watched Newt who seemed listless in his captivity. The rich blues of his tails faded into something dull and lifeless. He spun and flitted from edge to edge of his glass prison, circled the thing endlessly until Percival got dizzy from watching him.

“We can’t keep him,” Theseus sobbed one night as he clutched at Percival in front of the aquarium.

“No we can’t.” The agreement hurt more than expected even though Theseus was expecting it.

“I don’t want to let him go,” there was no holding back the tears for either of them as they watched Newt, “and yet I know it’s a cruel death that awaits him like this.”

“I’m so sorry,” Percival whispered into his hair and they wept together.

The day Newt stopped swimming and instead was sunk to the bottom on his aquarium, eyes lifeless and ready for death the other two knew they had to act. Together they charmed the aquarium out of the house and down to the deserted beach they spelled to stay off maps. The walk along the pier was akin to the last walk of the damned. At the end they gently placed the aquarium down and with a final breath and linked hands they tipped it as their magic unravelled. There was a splash and by the time they looked there was just a plain bathtub on its side by the edge of the pier. Together they peered over the edge and watched as Newt stared back up at them from below the surface of the water. His powerful tail twitched lazily as he smiled and reached for Theseus.

Blindly his brother reached for him, their fingers linked under the cold water. Newt’s smile turned from grateful and innocent into something wicked as he yanked. Above him Theseus toppled into the water and he thrashed as powerful arms dragged him further below into a murky death. He kicked and tried to shout, to plead with Newt to see sense. It was only when another pair of hands grabbed him and heaved him out that he could breathe raggedly again. He collapsed against Percival in a fit of tears and they watched the way Newt’s tailed flicked with annoyance.

“In nature beauty is a savage thing,” a voice startled them from behind. They turned as one to face Grindelwald who strolled towards them. He looked good, clothes tailored in an eccentric and expensive fashion. Well rested, well fed the man looked powerful while they were bedraggled and haunted.

“Please,” Theseus didn’t know what he was begging for. He just wanted his brother back. Grindelwald stopped a few steps away from them and peered down at the pitiful picture they made. As he inspected non-existent dirt under perfectly manicured hands he spoke.

“I suppose I could help,” he drawled, “you were worthy foes. Made things much more fun. You deserve a reward.”

“We don’t want anything from you,” Percival spat.

“Shame. Because while I can’t let you rule the land, I could let you rule the sea.”

Silence reigned over them. The soft drips of the last few drops of water fell from the bathtub into the sea. Percival squeezed Theseus’ hand.

“Okay,” Theseus finally muttered and then cleared his throat, “okay, you win. We give up.”

The smile Grindelwald gave them was full of teeth. He didn’t bother to check if they were certain that is what they wanted. A quick flick of his wand and both Theseus and Percival were rapidly changing. They tore at their clothes with sharpening claws while their ears morphed, teeth grew to small points and eyes changed. There was no room for shame as their legs fused together and they crashed gasping into the water with a splash.

The change had happened so quickly there was no time for them to rue those they left behind. The fight they were giving up. They’d done their bit. But they weren’t enough to overcome their adversaries. Their numbers were too few, too far spread and were decimated each day. There was no shame in laying down their arms and taking a way out when offered. In days their little resistance was going to be over anyway, Seraphina had sold them all out when, as their leader, she caved to Grindelwald.

Their enemy was the last to ever see them, or rather what they had become. A flash of blue, black and green under the waves as they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr is where it's at - @ladyoftheshrimp


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